Simple Alpha.txt changes to make SMAC more fun:

[smacksim]

Carriers and subs in an MP game will be great. It's just a matter of setting it up with players willing to play from a folder containing the modified text. Been talked about many times, but I only recall one such game actually being played.

With the elevation bonus you may want to increase artillery's effectiveness. Increasing it from 99% --> 100% ability to destroy units, etc..

looks like some well thought out changes

[Chaos Theory]

Remember that if artillery can inflict 100% damage, it will instantly, almost assuredly, kill ordinary probe teams in the open, regardless of stacks. You may consider this desireable, but should be aware of it nonetheless.

[Zeiter]

Ah, yes, I forgot, I also edited the max artillery damage for land units to 100%. Should I also increase the modifier for each level of elevation? Would 50% be too much? Or how about increasing it slightly to 33%? Ah, yes, I think I'll do that.

Edit: New version with modified artillery damage posted up above.

[gwillybj]

Re: Simple Alpha.txt changes to make SMAC more fun:

Originally posted by Zeiter
10% combat bonus for attacking along roads

This is broken, in that the bonus is applied everywhere, in every battle, regardless of whether both/either/neither the attacker's or defender's space contains a road.

[Zeiter]

Well, that's a pity. If it doesn't make any difference, then I guess I'll just leave it in there.

[Rubin]

I've been experimenting a few years with preventing the 'forest and forget' terraforming strategy. I've had very good results with reducing the default forests output to:

0 Nutrients, 1 Minerals, 1 Energy

Forests are still a viable terraforming choice when playing on low rainfall/abundant native life worlds.

I use this setting whenever I play single player games (not challenges, though) and I highly recommend this alpha/x.txt change.

[Natalinasmpf]

Uh....what about 1 nutrient, 1 minerals and 1 energy? I think thats far better. They do provide food, minerals to build, AND stuff to burn.

There should be a "young forest" and "mature forest" and "ancient forest" with more rewards as the forest becomes older kind of thing: Thus it will encourage actively planting forest to get more older forest squares as possible.

The problem this is also going to encourage continously building forests, then chopping them down by building a farm or something. Or maybe it should be that way? Then you should get a higher reward for chopping them down. Units should get health points for chopping down enemy forests then too! Or something.

[DilithiumDad]

What about increasing the benefits of farms and solar collectors? The AI builds tons of these, while humans build very few. Thus, raising farms to +2 nutrients and solar collectors to +2 energy would benefit the AI greatly. You could even have farms give +2 nutrients and +1 minerals, to make them more competitive with forests.

[GeoModder]

Originally posted by Rubin
I've been experimenting a few years with preventing the 'forest and forget' terraforming strategy. I've had very good results with reducing the default forests output to:

0 Nutrients, 1 Minerals, 1 Energy

Forests are still a viable terraforming choice when playing on low rainfall/abundant native life worlds.

I suppose that the initial 0 nutrient of forests doesn't disable the Tree Farm and Hybrid Forest extra nut?
The same result can be reached by removing one of those two facilities in the game, so the initial forest nut can be saved. Also, it possibly forces players then to look for a replacement facility for the 50% econ loss of one of those two facilities.

[Chaos Theory]

Originally posted by DilithiumDad
What about increasing the benefits of farms and solar collectors? The AI builds tons of these, while humans build very few. Thus, raising farms to +2 nutrients and solar collectors to +2 energy would benefit the AI greatly. You could even have farms give +2 nutrients and +1 minerals, to make them more competitive with forests.

As far as I know, farms can never add minerals or energy, mines can never add nutrients or energy, and solar panels can never add nutrients or minerals.

[DilithiumDad]

Geo: Yes, the Tree Farm and Hybrid Farm nutrient bonuses would still apply. A better approch would be to reduce minerals so that forests are 1-1-1 or take away the energy.